Real Eyes
by RustyFicAnon
Summary: AU. Hiccup's a closeted, but very well-liked actor with two hit movies under his belt and a third in the works. Jack's a radio host that goes by an alias, and very few people have actually him seen in person. They meet in a scheduled interview to promote 'Dragons 2', and find that despite being from very different worlds, they have a fair bit in common.
1. Chapter 1

"**Hiccup"**

Hot and upcoming lead of the hit movie franchise "How To Train Your Dragon", with a nickname than will probably stick forever. He's talented, successful, incredibly charming, and only twenty-two. Better get those tissues put though ladies, because he's _also_ taken! Hiccup lives happily with co-star and long-time girlfriend, Astrid Hofferson. And while we don't know what the third installment will bring for our Hollywood sweethearts,_ off_ screen, it looks as though we can expect a proposal in the near future!

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"**Jack Frost"**

We're dying to know just _who_ the young man behind the microphone is – with a sexy voice like his, who wouldn't? Unfortunately, our favourite snowflake doesn't look to be revealing himself anytime soon, recently telling fans he is "under strict contract to keep [his] identity secret." But even without a face, he's keeping the radio industry going strong with more than two million listeners tuning into _Believe_ everyday. And that number may be on the rise, as next week, along with his call-ins and cheesy jokes that we've come to love, Jack Frost will be doing an exclusive interview with acting star, Hiccup Haddock!

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Real eyes, realise, real lies.

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"**Hiccup" Hunter Haddock**

For a long time he was certain he would become another forgotten child-actor. And sometimes, that sounded like a much more enticing route to have taken.

The latter notion first occurred to Hiccup when reading over his new contract, after his first movie had become a huge hit. There was the usual public image stuff; guidelines for interviews and fan interaction, no body alterations or offensive clothing, but then-

_"Maintain straight, wholesome image."_

Now wholesome Hiccup could do – he hardly even swore...

The then eighteen year old was left in shock, re-reading the papers several times to make sure he'd done so correctly.

Wholesome, Hiccup could do. He rarely even swore...But _**straight?**_ Well. It wasn't exactly something he went around announcing to people, but anyone there to witness his on-set kisses _knew _that he was quite far from it._  
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Even though a relationship wasn't on a list of his top priorities at the time, knowing that it couldn't ever _become _one if he wanted to pursue his career, left a heavy, sinking feeling in Hiccup's chest.

Not long after, fans began to speculate on a possible real-life romance between he and Astrid; the whole world apparently endeared by the movie's awkward romantic subplot. And hey, what better way to keep up straight appearances? The pair's handlers loved the idea – convenient _and_ efficient – and drew up new contracts right away.

'Dates' (see: outings in which Astrid must constantly remind Hiccup to hold her hand and not to look so constipated when smiling) became integrated into their work life. It was kind of cool being paid to go out to lunch or shop, and it wasn't like Hiccup and Astrid didn't get along well as friends, but the brunet couldn't shake the feeling everyone could tell it was a lie.

Why else did there need to be_ hundreds_ of high definition 'sighted' pictures of them together running in every celebrity magazine?

In the beginning Astrid tried her best to console Hiccup, assuring him it was only a small part of their work and that people had bigger things to concern themselves with anyway. But that quickly evolved into her giving him the most _obnoxious_ pet names in front of cameras to demonstrate that those who _were_ invested in their relationship, weren't particularly difficult to satisfy.

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**Jackson "Frost" Overland**

Jack loved his job, really. He was certain he'd never grow tired of it. The fans were great, he got to meet some amazing people on the show, _and_ there were few days he couldn't wear his pajamas to work. A pretty ideal job if you ask him..._Before_ the broadcast is over, that is.

Because after _Believe_ goes off the air, listeners move on with their day- they don't actually know him after all. Guests leave after agreeing not to disclose any information about the host – which makes it a hassle to stay in touch outside the studio- and then it's just Jack. Alone in his pajamas.

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**Expectations.**

Hiccup always liked to do a little research on the people who were going to interview him. Not that his management team didn't do that meticulously enough, but. Even after his reasonable time in the spotlight, the youth still got kind of nervous when thinking about publicity appearances. _Now_ though, it was more of a response to seeing old footage of himself fumbling and laughing over his words as opposed to standing before millions of people.

His research generally entailed watching a taping of whatever program he was appearing on to get a feel for the demographic, and what answers they would most like to hear (knowing the time and place to let loose on snark was _very _important). Hiccup's process was much the same when his latest radio interview was confirmed.

_"Hey everyone, welcome to the show. I hope you're all having a lovely weekend and not thinking too hard about Monday's hard work and deadlines. If you are though, don't worry. Courtesy of our guest band from last week, _The Guardians,_ we've got their latest single to ease up and remember the fun times."_

The brunet was already feeling uncertain about the fact the guy went by the name "Jack Frost" ( mostly because of the snow puns that came with it) and it wasn't helped any when the song started to play... To each their own, but it definitely wasn't Hiccup's first choice in music.

The feeling only worsened as he continued to listen; the so-called host seemed so aloof and disorganised. He accidentally left his mic on while playing another song and sung over it terribly off key, had to pause the show to pick up -what Hiccup was _assuming_ was – the pieces of something glass he'd knocked over and broken, _and_ went off on endless tangents with callers.

This "Jack Frost's" relationship with his callers _especially_ bothered Hiccup.

The majority of them were girls who sounded more interested in showering his voice in compliments than listening to what it actually had to say. It was something Hiccup unfortunately could relate to; when fans took their admiration too far and saw him as a_ thing_ rather than a _person_, it made him terribly uncomfortable.

But unlike him, it didn't seem to bother _Jack_ at all... And that just rubbed Hiccup all the wrong ways.

When the broadcast ended, he felt he had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Some 'hunky', incompetent dope, whose actual ability to run a radio station was given very little thought when he was hired.

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**VS Reality.**

They first met face to face in the small lounge by the recording booth. Hiccup was signing away the last of the legal papers by his supervisor – the place took NDA's _really _seriously – when Jack entered carrying several used coffee mugs.

Hiccup's eyes shot immediately to his head of stark white hair.

"Oh wow," Jack gave a laugh, "You're here early."

It was sort of hard to process that the deep voice was actually coming from the lanky youth standing before Hiccup. On voice alone he was shooting for late twenties/early thirties, but in person, the guy didn't look any older than nineteen.

"Jack...Frost?" he addressed politely, pointedly choosing not to give comment on Jack's own punctuality.

"The one and only," the taller moved quickly to the nearby sink to place the cups he was holding before returning to offer Hiccup his hand, "Well, the only one on air, at least."

They shook briefly while Hiccup noted the young man was wearing a ratty sweatshirt, and pants that had probably never seen an iron. He felt over dressed by comparison, but atthe same time satisfied that Jack wasn't resembling the jock-image he'd created in his head.

"So that must make you.. Hunter, right?" Jack asked after releasing the other's hand.

He addressed Hiccup as though he was an ordinary stranger rather than an actor with a net worth of several million dollars. It was kind of jarring, honestly.

Hiccup didn't let onto this though, simply nodding with a courtly chuckle, "Well that's what my birth certificate _says_, but everyone else seems very set on 'Hiccup' I'm considering changing it."

He was expecting the laugh that came from Jack. Different shows varied obviously, but Hiccup had developed a joking persona that interviewers seemed to respond well to. It wasn't entirely different from his actual sense of humour, just more conservative, less snarky and with self-depreciating remarks dialed back to mild.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. S'pretty crazy."

"Aha, pretty crazy yes. But definitely not the _most."_

Jack nodded with a smile of understanding which was then followed by a brief silence.

"Um, can I.. Get you a coffee or something before we head into the studio?"

Though he probably could have gone for one, out of habit, Hiccup graciously declined.

"Oh uh, no. I'm fine, thank you."

"Well there goes trying to cover up my addiction– " Jack sighed in defeat, "I'll just grab another for myself then, and we can get started."

"Sure thing," Hiccup didn't mean to, but his response came out sounding stiff.

He watched the tall youth make his way back over to the sink. There Jack rinsed one of the mugs and switched on a nearby kettle.

Looking a little more closely, Hiccup noticed the particular cup Jack chose sported a crack in the handle, that looked to be glued back on. He absently pondered over why someone with Jack's kind of financial standing wouldn't just replace it, while reading the text on its side.

_'You're Our Special Snowflake, Jack'_

Oh. Fanmail.

Or, fan_mug_ in this instance.

Suddenly the fact Jack had chosen against replacing the broken vessel was more endearing than confusing.

"Alright then, I'm all set. You ready to get started, 'Hiccup'?"

The actor blinked, registering the other was now in front of him. Before answering, he spared a glance back to his supervisor nearby who was still busily going over papers. They gave a nod of a approval in his direction before turning back to their work.

"Sounds good to me, aha."

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**The Interview – Preparation **

Everything was a lot more informal than what Hiccup was used to. The pre-show usually took a lot more organising; discussing questions that will (and _can_) be asked, hair, make-up (though those were a bit of a given), occasionally a brief rehearsal. Whereas with Jack, not moments after Hiccup sat himself in the guest chair, the former was already making the preparations to go on air.

"I like it to feel genuine, you know?" Jack explained while one of his staff was setting Hiccup up with the necessary equipment for the broadcast.

"Right."

The brunet watched as the other leaned forward to adjust something on his switchboard, and then their eyes met. Jack grinned.

"And it's kinda fun watching people squirm."

Hiccup made an effort to still himself, "Well I don't know how much of that I can promise, ha. I've had a little practice at this sort of thing."

His tone was polite enough that it didn't deter Jack's amusement. The white haired man finished the last of his adjustments and then sat himself in his own chair beside Hiccup's.

"In that case, I'll do a quick sound check and we'll get going then, yeah?"

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**The Interview**

The broadcast began with a song that Hiccup recognized from when he listened in the week before. Next to him Jack was both quietly mouthing and what _appeared_ to be dancing (as best one could in a swivel chair – so more like bopping) along to the lyrics. He also seemed entirely unaware he was doing so.

Something about experiencing it in person made it significantly more tolerable.

There wasn't much time to contemplate it however, Jack's hand soon reaching for a dial that slowly faded the music out.

"Hello, and happy Wednesday everyone; you're listening to _Believe._ I'm gonna cut the songs short today, because -as most of you know- I've got a very special guest in the studio with me."

Hiccup watched as Jack's own gaze drifted from his microphone to a sticky note below several switches. He couldn't quite make out what it read, but there were numerous dot points scrawled on it.

"So please welcome the actor whose latest performance left us without a leg to stand on: the one and only, Hiccup!"

Apparently Jack's puns weren't restricted to things snow-related.

But Hiccup pushed aside an honest reaction to this discovery for a controlled laugh, "I'm flattered, really. But I think you'll find I've still got one left."

Again as Jack spoke his eyes flicked briefly back to the sticky note, "Right of course, _still kicking_...For now. As I understand there's a third movie on its way?"

"That's right," Hiccup silently congratulated himself for not reacting , "Not for a while yet though."

"And, all joking aside," Jack turned to the brunet, playful expression replaced with curiosity, "What _was_ it like working with a prosthetic?"

The sudden tone shift threw Hiccup a little bit, but he recovered quickly enough that it probably wasn't noticeable to anybody listening.

"Oh, well. It was definitely one of the more challenging things I had to do," Out of habit, his gaze shifted away from the host's and to the wall in front of him, "I mean obviously it's all just smoke and mirrors; I can't _actually_ speak on behalf of amputees..."

Hiccup spoke at a fairly quick pace. There was a short pause after he stopped – intended for Jack to go straight into the next question, as seemed pretty standard interview practice.

But it didn't come.

The actor turned back to Jack, who simply responded with a small nod, almost like he was prompting him to continue.

"..Really?"

The way he spoke took a moment for Hiccup to place; it wasn't a tone he often heard. Jack sounded _genuinely interested_ in what he had to say - and not in a way that he had something to personally gain from the information.

"U-uh yeah. I did get to work with two absolutely brilliant coaches who were though. Amputees I mean," Hiccup made an effort to speak a little more slowly this time, "Without all their patience and hard work, I really don't think the movie would have been anywhere near as good."

"Wow," Jack was still nodding slowly, now with a wide smile, "It must've been quite the experience, then."

"It really was."

There was a fondness in Hiccup's voice that wasn't there before, having forgotten briefly about maintaining his formal demeanor to revisit on-set memories. Jack seemed to pick up on this; he couldn't be sure what _specifically_ put the smile on the brunet's face, but stayed quiet for a moment to allow him to indulge.

"Any particular highlights?"

Even with the wait, Hiccup was still noticeably surprised when Jack's words came.

"Oh uh-" the freckled youth stopped himself to right his posture that had slackened, "Do you mean with the coaches, or just the film making in general?"

"Either or," Jack shrugged in reply, making no such effort to keep up a semblance of professionalism.

Even in the studio he treated the conversation as though it was with a good friend, and not an exclusive interview being broadcast to millions of listeners across the world.

"Both if you want," he added shortly after, smiling.

This time when Hiccup answered – indecisively, as he really couldn't just pick _one _definitive moment about either experience – he made an effort not to let his eyes stray back to the wall.

Bound by contract, the things Hiccup could say were still restricted, but as the conversation wore on,_ how_ he said them became a lot more relaxed. The added freedom of a radio interview was a contributor for sure, but there was something else too. A certain fair-haired presenter who the actor _may_ have been a little quick to judge..

Jack's puns were still undeniably insufferable (the source -Hiccup discovered – being the sticky note from earlier), but there was something about his casual demeanour that created a very comfortable atmosphere to be in. Something that didn't quite translate when Hiccup was simply a listener.

Currently he found himself laughing – honest to the Gods, unrestrained laughing - with the host while trying to recreate an outtake that didn't make it onto the DVD.

"My sympathies go out to everyone who had to work with you," Jack teased, wishing to have been there to see the mishap himself. Mostly because Hiccup's hand gestures were absolutely rubbish ( he made sure his listeners were aware of this).

"Certainly not going to watch _that _scene the same way ever again."

"Well, _you_ asked."

"It's sort of my _job_. Are you blaming me for my choice in livelihood?"

"I never said that."

The friendly banter carried on for a short while, until Jack brought up the call-in aspect of the show.

"So usually we have a topic that people call in to discuss," he explained, "And today-"

"The 'topic' is me?" Hiccup interrupted, eyebrows rising.

"That's right. You're catching on quickly," Jack chuckled, giving Hiccup a look reminiscent of the one he sported when teasing him several minutes ago (in response to which, the brunet rolled his eyes).

"So are you up for it?"

Hiccup suddenly became a little unsure, apparently not catching on as quickly as it seemed, "Like, me answering the calls?"

His public image was very important, and as such, questions -even from fans - were _always_ filtered through.

"Well actually. I figured things might get a tad hectic if we opened the lines while you were on the show."

"Oh. Right."

"But, over the last few days the listeners and I started putting together a list of questions that they agreed on, to ask you."

Hiccup let out a breath of relief, and realised it was pretty silly to have been worried at all. The way Jack's station ran things was significantly more _relaxed_ than Hiccup's own management team. But even so, there had to have been behind-the-scenes negotiations between them before the interview could even happen at all.

"Which are all _family-friendly_ of course," Jack added with a chuckle, confirming Hiccup's thoughts.

'Family-friendly' was basically code for no talk of money, politics, or religion. Not to mention it also limited the really uncomfortable personal questions the more..._enthusiastic_ fans felt they had the right to ask– so everyone wins.

"Well, I don't want to disappoint," Hiccup finally answered.

"Great! Let me just pull them up-" Jack turned to the monitor on his other side, opening what Hiccup assumed was a list – he didn't really look for long, instead turning to look at the wall in front of him.

All the thoughts about management and his image reminded the youth he could probably do to settle some. He'd let himself stray from his usually polite 'public-self' a bit too much – a side effect of being around Jack Frost, apparently.

"Alright, first one: 'does he-" Jack interrupted himself with a snort, clearly amused by what he read.

Hiccup turned back to the monitor, curious.

"So apparently this one is actually for _me_," the host managed through an amused laugh, "It says, 'does Hiccup have even more freckles up close?'."

The freckled youth in question withheld a mildly disturbed 'wow'.

This wasn't the first time his sun-kissed skin became a topic of discussion. Oh no, it was kind of a _thing_ amongst the fans (of which, his handlers had _no _issue indulging them in).

Questions about any pre-scene rituals he might have to prepare himself when acting? Not allowed. Mass media speculation about just how many freckles he has on his butt? Entirely appropriate. Feel free to ask him about it.

Hiccup tried his best to dismiss any feelings of resentment, assuring himself that the majority of his fans _were_ lovely and that _this _question was most likely, just innocent curiosity.

"Well uh," Jack swiveled in his seat to face the boy, making a show of (playfully) looking the him up and down, "I don't know if it's_ more_ – in a movie about dragons it's not really the first thing you think about but –," Hiccup smiled at that comment, "- I _can_ confirm that he's got quite the collection."

Jack sounded strangely pleased with his final assessment. There was a small silence where his blue eyes lingered, and Hiccup cast his own gaze downwards with a shaky chuckle.

W-weird.

"Y-you say it like I had some sort of choice in the matter," the brunet managed after a moment, realising he'd yet to verbally respond.

Jack merely laughed back, having returned to face the computer screen, "This next one's for you."

"Oh darn," Hiccup snapped his fingers, weakly feigning disappointment in attempt to refocus his thoughts where they needed to be.

" It asks: 'Was the flying suit uncomfortable?'"

Good. That was a good, distracting question. Hiccup actually laughed, in fact.

"Um, well. Not _as _uncomfortable as I thought it would be when I first saw it," he began, while Jack spun back to face him, "Though I don't think it'd be my first choice in attire on _any_ occasion."

"Not even for flying?"

Hiccup shook his head vigorously, "_Definitely_ not for flying."

"Oh?"

"I mean, it's a _beautifully_ crafted costume, but it was also incredibly restrictive when doing flying scenes. I'm sure the 'real' Hiccup would have resolved that issue, but the costume itself felt very impractical."

Jack smiled, finding it amusing that the actor's response sort of sounded like something the 'real' Hiccup would say.

"Anything you would have done to improve upon it?"

"Not constructing the majority of it out of heavy leather comes to mind. And a little less busy, maybe."

The swiftness of the boy's response – like it wasn't the _first_ time he'd given thought to improving the suit – only increased Jack's amusement.

"Well, you've heard it from the man himself, everybody," he said, "Now we know."

The questions continued on normally after that. They were all fairly standard, but with Jack's habit to have Hiccup elaborate on them, they didn't feel so repetitive.

_'If you weren't acting, where would you be?' _Hiccup answered, "Probably in a bakery," which lead to the pair discussing their favourite pastries, and then agreeing that getting their hands on some doughnuts after the broadcast, would not be a bad idea.

_'What kind of role would you like to play next?'_ became a debate over whether or not anyone could in fact take Hiccup seriously as a villain. Hiccup made a great effort to be offended that someone would even _question_ his ability, but in the end, had to reluctantly admit that it _probably_ wouldn't go so well.

And _'Who did you most enjoy working with?_' - "Toothless, of course."- lead to the hilarious discovery that they did indeed have stand-ins for _all_ the CGI dragons, of which Hiccup spent a _lot _of time on the backs of.

"Alright, there's one more here," Jack still wasn't done laughing, but after a quick glance at the time, he knew he'd need to wrap up the interview soon.

Questioning Hiccup as to _why_ he most enjoyed working with people he had to clamber all over, would have to wait for another time.

"And it says..?" the older prompted, watching Jack's eyes scan the screen.

The latter looked a little confused and a different kind of smile tugged at his lips. Hiccup couldn't properly place it, but it was _off._

"Well, it's another one for me," he said, carefree voice not matching his expression.

"Oh?"

"Yep."

"..And?"

"It says," Jack looked uncomfortable, but somehow stopped it from coming through in his laugh. "'Jack, how soft is Hiccup's hair?'"

Oh management.

"Wow," Hiccup gave an amused scoff (the beauty of being an actor), briefly letting his head loll back to face the ceiling, "They've really got you jumping through hoops, huh?"

"A few here and there, haha."

When he faced Jack again, the host looked apologetic..And, empathetic almost. Whatever it was, Hiccup thought quickly to correct it.

"I actually get this one a lot," he says (and he does, phrased in the exact way that provokes for awkward hand-in-hair-contact), "Keep telling people its all the work of my stylist, but the fixation remains."

While speaking, Hiccup leaned his head forward in invitation. Jack found himself both surprised and relieved.

"Oh really?" he chuckled, feeling thankful for Hiccup's efforts and extending his hands to the locks in front of him.

The contact was light, and really only Jack's fingertips. But there was enough sound made between them that it wouldn't be obvious to listeners.

"My compliments go out to your stylist – and my condolences of course, because they technically had to work with you too,"

"Very funny."

"Well I thought s-" Jack had gone to withdraw his hands from Hiccup's (admittedly rather silky) strands, when something caught his eye.

"Is that a braid?"

"Oh, that?" Hiccup titled his head back up, hand reaching for said braid as he nodded sheepishly, "Yeah."

Jack brought his arms back to his sides while waiting for a further explanation.

"I have a bit of a bet going with Astrid – My uh. Girlfriend," he supplied, still struggling to make the word sound natural, "To see how long I can stand to keep it in."

"And how long has it been so far?" Jack asked, playfully intrigued.

"Uhm," Hiccup had to think a moment, aloud, "We started filming...Ten months ago so, yeah. About ten – nearly eleven – months now?"

"That's certainly an achievement," Jack chortled and Hiccup humoured him with a bow, "Is there a prize?"

"If I make it through the third movie with it still intact, I get to write our speech for the premier."

"And.. If if it comes out _before _'Dragons 3'?"

"..She gets to pick the dress I wear to it."

Jack looked at Hiccup in disbelief. The brunet's expression didn't falter, and then Jack was in stitches.

"_Oh wow_. T-that. That is some _serious_ trust r-right there!"

Hiccup feebly attempted to defend himself, but pretty well knew it was useless before he'd begun.

"I hope she picks something flattering!"

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**Separate Ways.**

"That was.. Surprisingly fun," Hiccup admitted after Jack signed off.

He was shamelessly teasing; his polite pretenses forgotten.

"_Surprisingly_?" Jack repeated, feigning offense while pulling his headphones to hang around his neck.

The presenter was aware of the attitude shift, but didn't see a reason to comment.

"Well I mean, it is still _work_."

This sated Jack enough to drop the theatrics, instead nodding with a smile, "True."

They fell into silence for a moment, while Jack readjusted several things on his switchboard. It wasn't uncomfortable by any means, but Hiccup couldn't help but feel he had more to say. Like, this shouldn't be where it came to an end. Because despite his tone, Hiccup _did_ have fun. It was probably the most he'd enjoyed a publicity appearance since that one kids-award program with the crazy obstacle course and wading pool full of jello.

A vastly _different_ kind of enjoyment, but still.

Rising to his feet, Hiccup prepared to say something. He wasn't sure what, just some sort of friendly gesture, an _'I'd be down with doing this again'_ kind of thing.

That was appropriate enough to say, right?

Unfortunately he was interrupted by a knocking on the studio door; the thought never to be properly formed. His supervisor made herself known, leaning into view through the large inner window. Lingering closely behind her was also a member of his security team, looking impatient.

He turned back to Jack briefly, finding that they'd caught his attention also.

"Uh.. That's me," Hiccup said, shuffling reluctantly towards the door.

"Busy day ahead?" Jack chuckled, straightening up before moving to open it for him.

"Ha, yeah."

He had a 'date' to be seen with Astrid down by some big name clothing store, and some preliminary script-reads later that day.

"Well, thanks for coming," Jack smiled, one hand poised at the door knob while the other was offered to shake.

Hiccup took it with his own, and their eyes locked for a moment.

"I. Yeah," he nodded vigorously, "Thank you also."

Those were his last (and decidedly not as eloquent as he would have liked) words to Jack. After the door was opened, his supervisor immediately began running through his schedule whilst ushering him toward's the exit.

Hiccup only managed one glance back, and by then the radio host was already returning to the recording booth. This wasn't the first case of a hasty departure by any means. They happened all the time in fact. But, this _was_ the first he'd ever felt guilty about it.

Jack on the other hand, had become quite good at not allowing this sort of thing to affect him. The shift of atmosphere was still very abrupt, but he knew well by now that, there wasn't really another option for him to choose. Every guest that stepped into his studio would have to leave again. They lead busy lives that didn't have a whole lot of time to include him in.

And Hiccup was no exception.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to the lovely people who left me reviews! I really appreciate them. Sorry about the wait on this chapter, lots has been going on recently. Hope you enjoy!**

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They came in all shapes and sizes, from many parts of the world, with varying degrees of interest.

As he was becoming a bit of a house-hold name, a lot of Hiccup's support came from the more casual side; families and young children who were simply content to watch the films and leave it at that.

Jack on the other hand, was a bit of a different story. Whilst more than decently successful, his audience was significantly smaller by comparison. And of those, a larger percentage were more _enthusiastically _invested in both _Believe_, and its host.

Of course, that wasn't to say Hiccup didn't have a fair share of very dedicated fans (some to more uncomfortable levels than others). In fact, though neither boy was probably aware, these fans overlapped; sharing an admiration for both of them.

And so understandably, when these fans in particular heard there was going to be an interview that involved_ the_ Jack Frost and _the_ Hiccup, they were damn excited.

But it went deeper than the fact they'd be appearing together. It was a matter of _dynamic_; just how differently the young men presented themselves, and what that would mean if their personalities mixed.

Jack was always so laid back, nothing about his show ever felt entirely concrete or tightly scripted and that didn't seem to bother him at all. Whereas Hiccup, whilst evidently still charming and funny enough to bring people in, was far more reserved (a common complaint among his avid supporters).

There was a lot of joking speculation online between fans, blogs posting previous _Believe_ interviews with similarly reserved actors, detailing how they'd fallen under Jack's 'spell', and anticipating the same of Hiccup.

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_Can you imagine him dealing with Jack's puns, though?_

_._

_We'll see how long you last Mr. No Nonsense!Hiccup._

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_I volunteer myself to call in and talk to Hiccup on everyone's behalf._

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_Next week on Believe: How to Untrain Your Hiccup. Jack's got his work cut out for him._

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_Seriously is noone going to warn him about the puns, though?_

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Another thing to note, was this particular group had a tendency to be scarily accurate on occasion.

The joking continued after the the interview aired, now with what seemed like even more people than before.

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_Move over Astrid, Jack's got this._

_._

_Can we talk about how Hiccup is now one of the few people who have seen Jack Frost, and how Jack is one of the few who have actually touched Hiccup's hair? They basically know eachother's deepest secrets now. Time for marriage._

_._

_Why is it I did not know Hiccup had a snort-laugh before this? The world needs more unabashed Hiccup snort-laughing. Bless you Jack for being responsible._

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_The only other time I've heard Hiccup this animated in an interview was when he was asked about his favourite dragon. And we are all quite aware how strongly he feels about dragons. Let that sink in._

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How long they stayed jokes, was a different matter entirely.

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**The Exception**

The only person who was more ready for Hiccup's interview to be over and done with than Hiccup _himself_, was Astrid. In the week leading up to it, the guy was nothing but a drag to be around. And as someone who spent a decent amount of time around him – both in and outside of work - it got old, very quickly.

She actually celebrated after practically shoving him into the discreet black car prepared to take him to the radio station. Sure there'd probably be some "I was completely right, it was so horrible" complaining to come, but it wasn't anything Astrid couldn't shut down with a "shut up, it's over now, Hiccup".

And after the week she'd had,_ that _was worth having a drink to.

When she met up with Hiccup later that day however, there was no complaining at all. Generally this meant that sulking – of the _not-as-subtle-as- Hiccup-thinks-he's-being_ variety – replaced it, but there was none of that either. He seemed a little spacey, but otherwise fine.

Taking the peace she could get -despite being somewhat curious as to how things turned out – Astrid didn't call him on it. _Initially. _

Hiccup continued to be withdrawn, absent-minded the day and at home. The former, Astrid could forgive a little more, considering how many vapid teen magazines they'd done interviews for recently (she has many questions for their marketing team), but when it was just them at home, not so much.

Though the arrangement that was happening behind closed doors was _very_ different to what was publicised, Hiccup and Astrid _did_ share a house together. Or well, more accurately a very spacious private apartment together – but besides the point.

The actress wouldn't think to hesitate before calling Hiccup her best friend – which came with some pretty big responsibilities that he was not living up to.

They first met after finding out they'd been cast for the first _Dragons_ movie. Astrid who'd worked her ass off for several years trying to get a break like this – much to the disapproval of her family, and Hiccup, who while auditioned like everybody else, _did _get said audition through some_ connections_.

He wasn't proud of it and it still bothered him, but it's hard to expect much else when you've got a father directing high up in the industry.

Needless to say, the friendship had a bit of a rocky start.

Astrid wasn't one to buy into gossip and backstage trash-talk, but after losing several really great roles to family members of the Casting Director.. She didn't think particularly high of Hiccup.

An opinion not improved upon when the first words out of his mouth to her were, _"So you're the one who's going to be kissing me..?"_

Looking back on it now, having known him for years, it makes Astrid laugh.

The nervousness he spoke with should probably have tipped her off. But alas, despite his terrible way with words (which Hiccup apologized profusely for), she quickly found he was in fact a pretty sweet, likable guy.

That really,_ really_ had no intention of hitting on her.

Their friendship only escalated from there, and Astrid found herself pleasantly surprised when Hiccup _could _indeed act. Hanging out off set became a thing, the pair spending what probably should have been down time, to watch bad movies and reminisce high school Drama.

Hiccup was more into backstage production and costume making at the time, while Astrid was sneaking out to perform in anything and everything they'd let her be in – always as the lead, of course.

Being so wrapped up in theater left little time for the conventional party-scene most of their fellow students got involved in. As a result, neither yearned to be stupidly intoxicated, and agreed a quiet night at home was much more enticing. That was probably the moment they really clicked. Moving in together was basically inevitable.

And while there were occasional roommate squabbles, Astrid and Hiccup never once regretted the decision. It was great having a friend to come home to, who knew exactly what you were talking about when it came to work,_ and_ could deeply empathize when things got particularly shitty; just drop all the pretenses and be honest.

But ever since Hiccup's interview with that Jack guy, there had been none of that. At best the brunet would give a sort of half-assed "Oh yeah, that sucks a lot" or "Gotta hate those paps". Which today, _really_ wasn't going to cut it.

There was only so many diet questions Astrid could handle before venting (see: series of colourful curses thrown together) and a pair of willing ears was required.

"Alright," she said, turning sharply in Hiccup's direction, effectively stopping him from coming any further into the apartment, "What is it? What's up?"

Hiccup seemed unfazed, securing the front door behind him before giving his full attention to Astrid.

"Uh...I? We've been together all day...Is...There something 'up' I should know about?"

He moved to sidestep his friend, keys in hand to place on the table, but Astrid blocked him.

"_Yes_, you should know. Considering it's _you_ who's 'up'."

"Okay..." Hiccup remained confused, but got the feeling he wasn't going to be moving from his current spot anytime soon. With this in mind he stuffed their house keys into his pocket for safe keeping. "Wait, is this about me being taller than you now-"

"Ugh! _No._ I swear your stupidity is going to get you killed one day.."

"It's a little early for death threats, isn't it?"

Astrid questioned why she was waiting around for someone _else_ to commit the murder.

"The_ interview,_ Hiccup. The _Jack Frost one_," she clarified quickly before Hiccup could respond with another question, "You've been acting weird since, and I want to know why."

Finally the penny dropped. Hiccup's shoulders became noticeably stiff, and suddenly he couldn't look Astrid in the eye.

"Well...?" she prompted after a moment of silence, now more curious than ever.

"W-what makes you think-"

Astrid could tell just by the way the brunet's hand was moving to the back of his neck, that he was going to try and skirt around the subject. She'd seen him try to avoid answering for stupid things he'd done enough times to be certain.

"Don't bullshit me, Hiccup. No, seriously. You're not fun to be around like this," she said sternly, "Just tell me what happened; I'll laugh at whatever dumb thing it is you did, and then we can move on."

Hiccup cast his eyes to the floor with a sigh. Astrid's way with words still left a _lot _to be desired, but he knew she was right. Things were always better between them out in the open – and it _was_ all so stupid anyway..

It took him a moment to formulate an explanation, and even still it was came in a very round about, _Hiccup_ way.

"I.. _May_ have judged a book by it's cover.."

"What are yo-"

"The interview. _Jack._ He was.. Actually pretty decent," Hiccup trailed off at the end, but it wasn't lost on Astrid.

"So you enjoyed the interview?" she was merciful enough to phrase it as a question.

"It wasn't _as_ bad as I thought it was going to be..."

"You enjoyed the interview."

Hiccup sighed, finally relenting.

"Enough to feel bad when they rushed me off afterward.."

Astrid nodded slowly in understanding, "..Ah."

Abrupt endings to interviews were really uncomfortable; it was never nice feeling like you came off looking as an arrogant diva. But at some point – as Astrid herself had learned – you had to stop concerning yourself with what other people thought, and even assuming _you're_ what they're thinking about at all.

Hiccup was still in the process of learning this.

"I'm sure he would have understood though..." she breached the topic a little more gently this time, "You're an international celebrity, Hiccup; kinda on a busy timetable."

And Hiccup nodded, clearly knowing as much. It was easy to forget sometimes though; accepting that the 'celebrity' status applied to oneself was a process that took time apparently.

"Yeah," he gave the best nonchalant shrug he could.

It wasn't convincing at all, leaving Astrid more inclined to find out just _what_ happened in the interview..

"Just would have felt better to say goodbye properly," Hiccup shrugged again, this one even less believable than the first.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup."

"Me too."

"Uh, about. Being a lousy friend, I mean."

"I got that," Astrid chuckled, "And you're forgiven, by the way."

Looking at her friend, she could tell there was more he wanted to say (which made sense considering how significantly the whole thing seemed to have affected him). But knowing Hiccup like she did, he wasn't one to speak up without prompting when it came to himself.

"I don't suppose he has an email address or something?"

Hiccup turned his eyes back to her, from where they'd previously strayed, looking confused. "...Not that I have..?"

"Right.. I just, thought you could shoot him a message or something. Let him know you're sorry for having to rush off."

"O-oh," Hiccup considered the idea a moment, before frowning, "I don't know..."

He didn't say it out loud- already aware how he was coming off- but Hiccup felt that an email would be a little too impersonal for the closure he hoped to achieve. The ship for that had really already sailed though, seeing as his _ideal_ method involved traveling back in time and make sure he had enough to say good-bye in the first place.

"That'd be a bit.. strange wouldn't it?" he asked.

"No stranger than you feeling bad about this in the first place."

Some days Hiccup was less thankful for Astrid's blunt honesty than others.

"Right.." he nodded in reply, looking elsewhere again.

He clearly still had more to say – and probably _was _saying in his head – but Astrid could tell she wouldn't be able to get it out of him, so she dropped it.

She stepped to the side to let Hiccup know she didn't intend to block his path anymore, and gave a small smile.

Hiccup took the cue and made his way further into the house, towards the large sofa in the living room. There he sat down, comfortably sagging into the plush cushions, ready to forget about the day entirely. Astrid followed shortly after.

"You wanna watch something?"

"As long as I'm not in it."

* * *

><p>Hours later when Hiccup was curled into the arm of the couch, fast asleep (and recently covered in a blanket) , Astrid made her move. Situated at the other end of the room, laptop open and headphones securely plugged in, she began the search for the interview.<p>

There was a part of her that felt mildly guilty, seeing as Hiccup was reluctant to talk more about it himself. But she managed to press on with the thought that she was merely picking up where her friend was lacking. Far be it for Astrid to call him unmotivated or not determined, but some circumstances withstanding, Hiccup _did _have a habit of throwing his hands in the air and claiming apathy.

He was quick to jump to the 'da-da-da, we're dead', while Astrid was still asking, 'but are we really?'.

As far as the blonde was concerned, this was one of those cases.

The_ Believe _website wasn't difficult to find, but the actual interview itself was a different story. From what Astrid could gather from her browsing, the audio from the broadcast wasn't posted online until several weeks after it's actual airing – like a fan loyalty/viewership thing. If you didn't tune into the show, you had to wait.

For the time being, it seemed Astrid could do little herself but admit defeat. Until of course moments later, when she stumbled onto the Fan Comment section. It was a complete lucky coincidence really. The page was flooded in a steady stream of messages, and her eyes just happened to catch a link that read:

_'its low quality but if anyone missed Jack Frost's interview with Hiccup feel free to download!'_

Apparently not everyone was fond of the loyalty system.

Which Astrid chose to take advantage of, and clicked on, before it disappeared under the other incoming comments.

In the minutes waiting for it to download, the actress made sure to double check that her headphones were plugged in. A process which was then repeated prior to opening the file, just to be sure.

Probably wouldn't have killed her to be a little more selective. The audio quality was muffled and scratchy, and from the sounds of things, the recorder hadn't even managed to capture the entire interview.

In the first few seconds she could make out Hiccup's voice, already engrossed in recounting his favorite outtake story to tell in interviews. Astrid swore it got more exaggerated every time, but bore with it so as to hear the rest. She couldn't really be sure what she was expecting to hear, still lost on the idea Hiccup had been so affected by something he partook in routinely. But as the recorded conversation continued on, it became more apparent.

This "Jack Frost", was very laid back. He didn't sound as though he was trying to get through questions as quickly as possible – despite very likely time constraints. Nothing like the jerk he'd been described as to her weeks before. By the mid way point of the audio file, the guy even had Hiccup at ease enough to ramble.

It was something he did a lot more in their early days, until their handlers made it clear nobody had time for 'lengthy bumbling', and to keep his answers precise and relevant. Yeah, it felt harsh at the time, but they would never have gotten anything done if _something_ wasn't said.

So, the fact that Hiccup was comfortable enough to do otherwise was pretty significant.

When it came to the "listeners'" questions- even though Astrid _knew_ it was a little unreasonable to expect Jack to bypass _all _the bullshitter-y that were publicity interviews- she couldn't help but roll her eyes. Really it was a wonder how many people _actually _believed it was in anyway a hosts' decision as to which were asked. Especially considering how frequently the same ones were brought up. And – quite often –_ made _up.

Thankfully, there was at least some e_xpanding _on the usual queries. Astrid even found herself smiling along, the sounds of her friend very much enjoying himself proving to be quite pleasing. With the amount of time she spent with Hiccup, she could easily hear the smile in his voice; something that was generally reserved for discussing the logistics behind real-life dragons and very little else.

That all ended come the last question though. The freckle-fixation was to be expected, but the _hair touching _was a more recent development. Well, with her friend's largely adolescent fanbase, the _interest_ had probably always been there...But that hardly excused their handler's from encouraging fans to _act _on it.

Hiccup already dealt with his fair share of handsy presenters and reporters who felt entitled to be in his personal space (apparently a fine-print disclaimer of being a young, attractive actor); he really didn't need hands in hair requests to become a thing.

The pair handled it well though, from what Astrid could tell from their voices at least, and they fairly smoothly managed to navigate away from the subject.

She allowed herself to relax again when the bet was brought up. Both the confidence Hiccup spoke with, and the fact that if he ever tried to weasel his way out of it, Astrid would have audio proof of his agreement, were deeply amusing.

The file ended just as Jack began introducing another song to sign out with.

Almost immediately after, Astrid pressed to play it from the start again.

Some form of action definitely had to be taken here. The young woman couldn't be sure _what_ specifically just yet, but was very determined to figure it out.

* * *

><p>"There's a <em>Believe <em>website you know?"

It was over breakfast she asked. Hiccup was half way through pouring a bowl of cereal, hair a mess and eyes still adjusting to the waking world. But even in his just-conscious state, he seemed to catch on quickly.

Astrid and coyness were always deliberate. Hiccup knew this, and consequently felt his stomach sink a little.

"What did you do?" he asked with a frown.

"Nothing," she replied, drawing out the familiar act a little longer, "..Yet."

"Just a bit of research really."

"That sounds a bit like something," Hiccup commented dryly, placing down the cereal box.

Astrid remained unfazed by her friend's attitude.

"It's actually pretty cool – really fan oriented and stuff. Lots of ways to interact."

"Uh huh.." He nodded expectantly.

"All things considered, I think it's your best way to get in contact."

There is was.

Hiccup immediately went to resist the idea, because honestly. There were like_ a million and one_ reasons why Astrid's idea was a bad one. But before he could, he was cut off.

"You could get the apology off your chest and then, I don't know. Invite him out for _donuts _or something?"

His eyes grew wide. Now there was entirely separate issue.

"Y-you _listened _to it?" he spluttered.

It was stupid, honestly. To react so dramatically – especially considering this was _Astrid. _But for some reason the fact that she knew what was said explicitly, left the brunet feeling embarrassed and exposed.

"You were right. He does seem very decent," Astrid herself seemed to have no inclination to address it at all. "I approve."

"Okay, _first _of all-"

Of course, even with her current attitude, she'd be foolish to think there'd be no resistance from Hiccup's end. Thankfully, Astrid was far from such.

"-You have a _serious_ problem with invading privacy-"

"It was an interview broadcast to millions." She wasn't lying.

"That doesn't-"

"Even more on the website. S'pretty public domain." He didn't have to know it hadn't been _officially uploaded_ yet.

"Where I'm just _casually_ supposed to leave an invitation for donuts, that _**millions**_ will see? I'm sure our handlers would_ love _that."

"There's account settings to make your information invisible to other users – not that you'd be giving anything vital away, anyway." _Obviously._

" I highly doubt with that many people my message would even be seen."

"Jack's actually quite active on the GuestBook."

" Yeah. 'Jack', right. Come _on_, Astrid."

"The abundance of emojis doesn't really scream PR people." Even Astrid had been surprised, honestly. Jack did _sound _like an adult in the audio.

There was a brief moment of quiet where Hiccup was clearly trying to come up with another retort.

"T-this. This is ridiculous!" He groaned uselessly.

Really, why was he even_ trying_ to justify something so absurd?

Astrid merely sighed in response. She then pushed out from her place at the breakfast bar, gathering her bowl and taking it towards the dishwasher.

"...Guess you're right," the woman sounded truly defeated as she bent down to open the machine.

Hiccup looked on with great confusion.

"And I guess Jack will just have to go on thinking you're a _jerk_ forever."

There it was. .._Again._

"W-wait._ You- _What about yesterday when you said he'd 'definitely understand'?!"

Astrid couldn't help grinning when she turned back to see Hiccup's expression. She gave a dismissive shrug.

"Maybe I was just trying to make you feel better."

It was clear she had no intention of giving up. Hiccup felt the fact he knew this with uttermost _certainty_ from personal experience, warranted him _some_ kind of medal or compensation.

"You, are the sorest loser in the entire world..." he relented with a gruff sigh.

Astrid's smile grew wider.

"Happens when you win all the time."

* * *

><p>"Hiccup it's not<em> that <em>hard," Astrid groaned in exasperation as she heard vigorous Backspacing coming from the living room.

She was originally in there with Hiccup, but quickly had to remove herself before the urge to rip out her hair in frustration became too strong. It was hard enough watching him deliberate over an 'appropriate' username (_Definitely-Not-Squirming_ was what he finally decided on – it'd stick out amongst regular fans while not being _too_ obvious). The creation of the actual message was just too excruciating to be a part of in such close proximity.

"Seriously," Astrid continued when she got no answer, "You are wasting the first day off we've had in _ages_."

If Astrid wasn't around to make sure he did it, Hiccup would absolutely put off. Indefinitely if he could manage. He already wasn't allowing her to have any input, having only agreed to write the message at all, on that condition.

There was no depth to which Hiccup wouldn't weasel.

"Last I checked this was_ your _idea. I'm just going along with what you suggested," he called back.

His voice held no remorse.

Really she should have expected the passive aggression from the little bastard. It was easy enough to get him to cave to an idea, but having Hiccup be pleasant about it was a different challenge entirely.

Astrid didn't dignify his cheek with a response though, instead turning to her phone to keep her occupied while she waited.

* * *

><p>It had to have been another hour or so before the typing finally stopped. Upon noticing, Astrid stood and slowly made her way back into the living room.<p>

Hiccup was sat on the couch, laptop closed on his lap.

"...Finished?" she asked, withholding a 'finally' from her question.

"Yep," he answered, feigning nonchalance like the day before.

Astrid chose not to comment on it, the deed was done and that's what mattered.

"Good," she smiled, "Now you just have to wait."

"Yep," Hiccup said again with a nod.

There was a part of him that was still very adamant in believing this was a completely stupid idea – hell, Jack probably wouldn't even get the damn thing. But – and he wouldn't admit it out loud (probably wasn't necessary for Astrid anyway) – there was also another part that was a little hopeful.

"Just gotta wait."

.

.

.

**Getting On.**

There were plenty of people who looked down on how Jack carried himself. Probably more than the few middle-aged higher-ups he'd overheard disdainful comments from. But no matter what they thought or said, Jack was still a professional (even if only by the most literal definition). As such, it was expected of him to be able to keep personal feelings out of his work, and entertain like he was paid to do so.

Which he did.

Everyday since his interview with Hiccup, Jack hosted his show just as he always had; cracking jokes, chatting with fans and singing along to the songs he played. He'd even had a few other guests join him; never failing to make them smile and laugh.

Objectively, everything was going great.

And yeah, maybe that familiar nagging feeling in Jack's chest still lingered. The kind he got whenever he really clicked with a guest on the show.

Only it'd never lasted this long before.. And certainly hadn't compelled him to go out and learn more about them...

But Hiccup was quite the high-profile personality. Sort of hard _not_ to 'come across' an appearance or two of him if you watch enough television.

That's all it was. Probably.

Or at least that's what Jack told himself as the final chorus of the latest _The Guardians_ hit played through the studio. He'd be back on air in a moment, and had since prepared his last segment of the day.

"Welcome back everybody. You're listening to _Believe_, and that was _'Man In The Moon_', the new single from _The Guardians. _It's available in stores now, so if you liked the song, don't forget to show your support. Haven't met them myself, but they seem like a great bunch."

"Very busy though, lots of deadlines for them to meet I imagine. So for all those listeners who have been asking for me to have them on the show: when their schedule clears up, I'll definitely be extending an invitation."

"Speaking of questions," Jack leaned forward as he spoke, moving his mouse to reawaken his computer monitor, "Since we've got a little extra time today – which seems to be getting pretty typical of Wednesdays, I thought I'd take a look in the site's Guestbook and answer a few. And remember you're welcome to leave a question for me. I can't always read them on air, but I love to get them. Just don't write anything you wouldn't want your mother seeing."

The page had already been opened earlier, but Jack made sure to refresh it before he began reading.

"Let's see what we have here..." he began, eyes perusing over the many comments that presented themselves.

The host read through several, when a particular username caught his eye. It wasn't the name itself per se', but the capitalization – and oh wow, hyphens too.

Let's just say, his usual commenter didn't tend to have that much tact. There was the occasional snow pun amongst many variations of 'Mrs JackFrost' but otherwise, yeah. It was most likely due to the website being populated by, and aimed at a younger portion of his demographic.

The strangeness didn't stop at the username either.

.

_**Username:** Definitely-Not-Squirming_

_**Email:** _[Hidden]

_**Message:** "I feel awful about having to rush off the other day. Especially after you were so _cool_. You seem like a pretty understanding guy, but I'd still like to make it up to you. Believe you said something about a fondness for donuts?"_

_._

Jack blinked several times and reread the message, not believing the words in front of him.

The donuts was one thing, but everything else, the squirming, having to rush off, wasn't said on air.

The comment was from Hiccup. Fucking _Hiccup_. On his damn website of all places.

But well. There wasn't exactly a whole lot of options to get in contact with him otherwise, was there?

Beside the point. _Hiccup _had sent him a message. _Hiccup _wanted to _meet up_. Jack didn't know how they'd manage that with conflicting schedules, but he was so absolutely beside himself he didn't care.

"S-so! _'Nippingatyournose64'_ wants to know.."

Realizing he'd gone quiet for a long moment, Jack quickly began reading the question left below Hiccup's. Thankfully it was a fairly standard one, and he could basically answer on autopilot. The only real effort went into keeping his voice even, despite his excitement.

As he spoke, the host opened another window on his computer and began typing his administration password into it. With it he was allowed access to otherwise hidden email addresses on the site. The function was only intended to block inappropriate users from commenting, but nobody else had to know about this particular exception..

_Talking_Fishbone_Haddock AT Dnet . com _

Jack had to stop himself from laughing mid-sentence. If he wasn't certain before, he was completely convinced now, that the brunet had sent the message. As he jotted down the address for later, still talking away to his listeners, he also made note to make fun of Hiccup for being such a dork.

.

.

.

**Anticipation.**

Three days later, and Hiccup still hadn't received a reply. He felt like an idiot, both for having written it in the first place, and for having built up any sort of hope that Jack would respond. Lengthy time was spent reiterating this to himself.. While routinely checking through his emails.

He'd ended up having to make an entirely separate address for the whole endeavor, as both his work and personal ones were far too risky to put out on the internet. So when Hiccup opened his inbox, he couldn't even get falsely excited over emails from other people. It was completely empty. Almost mocking in a way...

"He has a day job you know," Astrid said, bringing him from his thoughts, "You've got to expect a little waiting time."

She sat across from him in the booth of a fairly public restaurant. For that reason, though she sounded impatient she was smiling pleasantly – ever aware of the watchful company outside.

Hiccup stiffened, trying to look as innocent as possible. Even though this had to be the fifth time today Astrid had caught him checking through his phone.

"At least try to look a _little_ invested," she chided, still with a smile, as she reached across the table to take Hiccup's hand.

There were several camera flashes from outside.

"S-sorry.." Hiccup replied sheepishly, making an effort to maintain eye-contact.

It lasted all of five seconds, before Hiccup's phone went off, a quiet _ding _sounding from his lap.

Immediately His hand dropped from Astrid's ( the woman refrained from rolling her eyes), and he scrambled to reach for the device.

Astrid gathered by the wide eyes scanning across the small screen, the email he'd been waiting for had finally come.

.

_**To:**__ Talking_Fishbone_Haddock AT Dnet . com_

_**Subject:** Really Hoping You're Not Just A Very Thorough Stalker  
><strong>Attachment(s):<strong> 'sure you get your fair share of intrusive fans. Just so you know its me'_

_hi :D_

_it was really no trouble. im sure you had like a billion other interviews to get to that day, not your fault. You're making quire the generous offer though and i think id like to take you up on it. my schedule is probably a little freer than yours. what works best for you? ;)_

_-Jack B)_

_._

Underneath the message was an attached photo. It was undeniably Jack's radio studio.


End file.
